


Midnight

by babypilots



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Little Space, Little Tyler, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 07:59:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10692894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babypilots/pseuds/babypilots
Summary: Long tour days lead to lonely hotel nights. Good thing Josh is always nearby.





	Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: this is non-sexual age play among consenting adults. If you don't like that, there's no need to interact with this fic :)

It wasn’t the fact that he hadn’t heard from Tyler all night - that was common enough on tour, and especially on hotel nights, which they would often use as chances to finally get a bit of space apart from each other after days in a cramped bus. But as Josh lay sleepless in his pristine hotel bed, he couldn’t help but feel like tonight’s silence was particularly loud. It wasn’t often that he felt this way - as if something wasn’t right with his best friend - but Josh couldn’t shake the feeling that Tyler was somewhere right now, needing him.

Maybe it was because the Blurryface tour was almost over, and they were so close to being home, but Tyler had started to seem more and more distant and reserved over the last few days. He had been even more fidgety than usual before the show tonight, and had rushed right off to the hotel so quickly that Josh was sure something must be wrong.

The feeling was making him so restless that he couldn’t stand it anymore, and after a moment’s indecision, Josh pushed himself off of the bed, slipped into a zip hoodie, and headed out the door of their room without bothering with shoes. He padded down the hallway to Tyler’s single room, yawning slightly as he went, and playing with the cuffs of his hoodie. He didn’t have to knock when he reached Tyler’s door - it was an unspoken rule with them to always leave his room open. Josh’s midnight visits were frequent enough that the extra step of the lock would have been far too much of a hassle.

Given his certainty that something was wrong, Josh was surprised to find the lights out when he pushed open the door. But a sliver of orange glow caught his attention, and he followed it towards the door of the en suite bathroom, which was standing slightly ajar.

He was met with a scene that sent a jolt through his heart, quickly dissipating into aching concern as he drew nearer to the bathtub, where Tyler was sitting, naked and shivering, his legs drawn up to his chest.

“Tyler?” Josh cooed tentatively, rushing to kneel at the side of the bath. Every possible worst scenario for why this would be happening was running through his mind. “What happened?”

Tyler’s voice was so small that it was barely audible, and Josh was just able to make out his soft whimper.

“I missed you,” he squeaked, sniffling and hiding his face farther into his legs.

Everything suddenly clicked into place in Josh’s brain. The distance, the silence, and this…

It had been a long time since they’d done this. Too long. He mentally berated himself, feeling as if he should have known that Tyler needed it.

Josh raised himself up to sit on the lip of the tub, and ran a warm hand over Tyler’s clammy back.

“Ty…” he hummed.

“’m sorry, I…” Tyler stammered tearily. “’m sorry. I couldn’t get out, needed…”

He looked up at Josh, eyes glazed over and full of tears, and Josh was finally getting a sense of just how small he must be. 

_Fuck it,_ he thought, hitching up the legs of his pajamas so that he could anchor his feet in the bath water, and bend closer into Tyler. He winced at how cold it was; Tyler must have been here for awhile.

“What did you need, sweetie?”

Tyler hugged his arms tighter around his knees, ducking his head and rocking slightly as he spoke in a muffled, small voice.

“Needed you.”

A warm, melting affection spread through Josh’s chest as he leaned in cupped his hands on Tyler’s face, drawing it up off of his legs and stroking his cheeks with his thumbs.

“Here now, baby boy,” he cooed, pressing a long kiss to Tyler’s temple. “Okay?”

Tyler blinked his red rimmed eyes, and nodded twice.

“Okay,” Josh repeated. “How about we get you dry and into bed, sweetie? I can help you into your pajamas?”

His suggestion was just met with a loud whine from Tyler, along with renewed sniffing sounds and a quivering lower lip.

“No?” Josh hummed. “How come?”

“I…” Tyler started, voice soft and breaking. “I d'wanna get in bed, ‘cause your gn'a leave.”

Josh ran another fond hand through his damp, fluffy hair.

“’M'not going anywhere,” he assured. “Gonna get you dry and cozy, and then I’ll lay with you for as long as you need, okay?”

Tyler sniffed, nodding one more time and looking up at him.

“Kay,” he hummed softly.

Josh pulled the plug on the cold bath water, feeling his heart twinge at the idea of Tyler slipping into this vulnerable space alone, and trying so hard to take care of himself. He wished he could have been there sooner, best he could do was be there for him now.

“C'mon baby,” Josh hummed, threading his arms under Tyler’s and helping to pull him up and out of the tub. He wrapped a huge bath towel around him, letting Tyler pull the ends tightly closed against his chest, burying into it so that his red nose just managed to peek out from the top. 

He looked so small and needy that Josh couldn’t help but wrap his arms around Tyler’s little towel-blanket, kissing his forehead sweetly.

“C'mon,” he tried again, coaxing Tyler forward with the tips of his fingers. “Let’s get you into bed.

Tyler nodded, shuffling his feet and following Josh back into the main bedroom.

Josh went straight to the clothes that Tyler had laid out onto the dresser, searching for boxers and an oversized shirt, but he turned around when he heard a soft mumbling behind him.

“What, sweetie?” Josh asked, tilting his head at Tyler, who had started to nibble on the top of the towel where it covered his hands.

Tyler just silently indicated to the bigger of his suitcases in the corner, and Josh headed over to it, unzipping it and digging through his clothes. His eye caught right away on what he knew he was supposed to be finding; and he straightened up, moving back to Tyler.

“Didn’t know you’d brought these on tour,” Josh hummed, holding up the snowman pajamas that had been tucked away in his bag.

Tyler shrugged, blushing slightly. “Haven’t worn them or anythin’,” he whispered, voice still high and soft. “Wanted you to put ’m on me.”

He fidgeted slightly where he stood, and Josh smiled warmly, moving forward to tug gently at the towel.

“Let’s get them on then, okay?” he suggested, and Tyler nodded. Josh spent a few minutes just drying him off, trying to warm up his cold and clammy skin, before tossing the towel to the side.  
As soon as he turned back, Tyler was already winding his arms around Josh’s neck, turning to tuck his face into the his shoulder, his cold little nose pressing into Josh’s collar bone. 

“Hey, hey, hold on baby,” Josh chuckled, unwinding Tyler’s arms and kissing the palm of his hand briefly before picking up the short pajama briefs. Reluctantly, Tyler stepped into them, letting Josh pull them snugly onto his hips. The matching long sleeve snowman undershirt followed, and as soon as it was on, Tyler pulled the cuffs down over his hands to give himself paws, immediately resuming his nibbling of the fabric again.

“That cozy, Ty Ty?” he hummed, and Tyler nodded shyly, still mouthing at his sleeve. Josh smiled in approval, before bending down and hoisting Tyler up by his hips. Tyler wasted no time in wrapping his arms and legs around him, nuzzling into Josh’s shoulder as he let himself be carried over to the bed. His hands were still cold on the back of Josh’s neck, giving him a sudden idea as they reached the bed.

“Hey,” he whispered into Tyler’s hair, setting him down gently on the edge of the comforter. “Stay still. Gonna make you into a burrito.”

He heard Tyler giggle softly, laying himself flat on his side. Josh grabbed the edge of the quilt from underneath him, and started winding it around Tyler again and again, until he was huddled into what felt like dozens of layers of soft, downy fabric. He moved around the bed, slipping under the bed spread next to Tyler’s huddled form, and wrapping his arms around him, blanket and all. The only parts of Tyler that peeked out of the burrito were big brown eyes and a tuft of fluffy brown hair.

“Good?” Josh queried, and the tuft of hair bobbed up and down in assent.

Josh snuggled in closer to him, hovering close to Tyler’s face and pecking him on the nose every so often, until a thought came to him, and he spoke.

“Baby boy…” he began… “why didn’t you text me when you wanted… when this was starting?”

Tyler just shrugged, making a high, noncommittal noise in the back of his throat, brown eyes still blinking up at him.

“Don’ wanna… bother,” he replied shyly, voice muffled by the blankets, and Josh felt his heart break a little. No matter how much or how often he told Tyler that he was okay with this side of him, that he didn’t think it was weird, he knew that Tyler was always going to feel bad about asking to be cared for.

“We’ve been over this, Ty,” Josh hummed. “I’m never gonna mind.” 

Tyler didn’t respond, but extracted his hands from the burrito, wrapping an arm around Josh’s middle, and clutching at his shirt. He mumbled something into the fabric that Josh didn’t catch.

“Can’t hear you, buddy,” Josh said softly, and Tyler lifted his watery face slightly.

“Can I go in your lap?” he repeated, barely audible, his face turning slightly pink again.

Josh smiled, reaching to undo the burrito, and maneuvering himself so that he was sitting against the headboard. Tyler half crawled, half let himself be pulled up to sit on Josh’s lap, kneeling on either side of his outstretched legs. Josh felt him grabbing gentle fistfuls of his shirt and burying his nose into the crook of his neck again, still making small huffing and sniffling noises. He wrapped both arms around Tyler, rubbing generous and firm circles into his back. 

They stayed like that, Tyler straddling his legs and curled into him, and Josh rocking him slightly back and forth, until Tyler’s breath began to grow slow and even, and the snuffling stopped altogether. 

Just when Josh thought he had fallen asleep, Tyler spoke in a small voice, his breath tickling Josh’s neck.

“Loveyou, Da.”

Josh just hugged Tyler closer into his chest, running hands over the soft skin of his back, under his snowman pajamas, and squeezing hard around his torso. 

“I love you too, baby boy,” he whispered, kissing under his ear, and he heard Tyler coo in appreciation.

He knew that he should probably make Tyler get off and under the covers, and that falling asleep like this would have them sore and sweaty in the morning. But Tyler’s knees were clamped hard around his legs, and his chest pressed so tightly against Josh’s that he could feel his heartbeat, and he couldn’t bring himself to move. 

Josh quietly reminded himself how much it meant that Tyler didn’t trust anyone else to see this side of himself; this utter innocence and abandon, this sheer vulnerability, was only for Josh.

And in this moment, with Tyler’s warm, slow breaths tickling his neck, that trust felt like the most important and wonderful thing in the world.

“Love you,” Josh repeated under his breath for good measure, before drifting off too.

**Author's Note:**

> babies


End file.
